[HPforGrownups] The Black Bloodline

[Lindsay W.]

No: HPFGUIDX 115055


macfotuk at yahoo.com wrote:
><snip>
>
>SURELY, it isn't HER father's house (meaning either her actual
>father or her forefathers) since she (presumably) gained the name
>Black by marriage? Here are some equally peculiar possibilities;
>
>-Sirius' mother didn't change her name upon marriage.
>-It was such a close intermarriage that both were called Hubby and
>Wife-to-be were Blacks already and she insisted on living in 'her'
>home.
>- She made HIM adopt HER name.
>-She didn't marry Sirius' father (unthinkable I think in WW)
>-She has so embraced her 'new' (as opposed to birth) family to the
>point of feeling 'descended' - through her children at least
>- A Flint (unlikely)

Lawless replies:
I've always figured that Mr. and Mrs. Black (Sirius's parents) were 
cousins, and probably first or second, since that wasn't completely unusual 
for royal families to do (in fact it was standard operating procedure 
sometimes), and the Blacks I certainly see as one of the WW's royal 
families.  :)  I even made a little family tree of what *I* theorize that 
what we know of the Black Family Tree to look like (a bit different from 
HP-Lexicon one - http://www.cityofwayside.com/BlackFamilyTree1.jpg ).  I 
have them down as second cousins.

If she isn't related to him (at least by surname), then I can certainly see 
her embracing the Black Family with vigor, especially if she came from a 
not-so-grand (in terms of bloodline and/or money) family.  She loved being 
apart of the family and took its mantra to the next level.

I think Kreecher's devotion, though, has to do with the woman's personality 
and his own twisted views of what is right or wrong.  I don't think House 
Elves are quite so slavish as they've been perceived - after all, Dobby was 
able to betray Lucius Malfoy and Winky showed devotion to Crouch Jr. over 
Crouch Sr., who was technically head of the household.  So it's completely 
believable that while Kreecher isn't supposed to have a choice, in reality, 
he does, and it may not be because of Mrs. Black's bloodline that he is 
devoted to her memory, but rather, because he liked her so very much.

--Lawless